Oil slick from loaded supertanker spotted, navy says

COLOMBO: An oil slick had been spotted a kilometer from a loaded supertanker off Sri Lanka’s east coast, Reuters quoted Sri Lanka’s navy as saying.

“The ship has tilted slightly towards where the fire broke out due to the large amount of water sprayed to douse the fire,” Sri Lanka Navy’s spokesman Indika de Silva told Reuters, adding: “Oil in the engine room appears to have leaked out to the sea.”

According to Reuters, De Silva said the New Diamond was being held some 40 km east of Sri Lanka, while firefighting boats sprayed it with water. Efforts to extinguish a fire on board continued.

An Indian Air Force plane stationed at the international airport in Hambantota had also dropped a specialized chemical mixture on the slick to control it, the Sri Lankan navy said in a statement.